The Seattle Kraken? Question for the NHL's Newest Team -- What's a Kraken?

Seattle's National Hockey League franchise name has just been announced.

Drum roll please....

Meet the Seattle KRAKEN.

Huh?

The Kraken?

Seattle's long-awaited pro hockey team, the league's 32nd franchise, will be nicknamed in honor of a mythological sea monster.  The new team website explained the naming choice, as follows:

Our maritime city with a proud history of adventure is deserving of a hockey club as untamed as the sea herself. The Kraken represents the fiercest beast in all the world. Too large and indomitable to be contained by man (or finned mammal). It instills one message in all opponents whether in our waters, or theirs…Abandon all hope.

Hmm, okay.

Sorry, the first thing I thought of when I heard KRAKEN is this:

Can stadium naming rights be far behind?

Reportedly, the name was selected from hundreds of possibilities after an exhaustive fan poll.  It's hard to believe, but according to the team, Kraken won (even though I doubt most hockey fans have any idea what a "Kraken" is).

Here's the team webpage, with the story of about the bizarre team name.

The Seattle Kraken begin play in 2021, assuming we have a season next year.

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Headline Photo Credit:  Seattle Kraken (NHL)